# vandal
## English
### Etymology

1660s, “willful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable”, from Vandal, referring to a member of an ancient Germanic people, the Vandals, who are associated with senseless destruction as a result of their sack of Rome under King Genseric in 455. During the Enlightenment, Rome was idealized, while the Goths and Vandals were blamed for its destruction. The Vandals may not have been any more destructive than other invaders of ancient times, but they did inspire English poet John Dryden to write, Till Goths, and Vandals, a rude Northern race, Did all the matchless Monuments deface (1694). However, the Vandals did intentionally damage statues, which may be why their name is associated with the vandalism of art. The coining of French Vandalisme by Henri Grégoire in 1794 to describe the destruction of artwork following the French Revolution popularized the idea further, and the term was quickly adopted across Europe, including as English vandalism.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈvændəl/
* Rhymes: -ændəl
* Audio (US):(file)

### Noun

vandal (plural vandals)
* A person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages things, especially other people's property.
    Vandals spray-painted obscenities on the side of the building.
    The anonymous vandal was blocked after going on a vandalism spree.

#### Synonyms

* destroyer
* ruiner
* wrecker
* vandalizer

#### Derived terms

* vandalic
* vandalise, vandalize
* vandalish
* vandalism
* vandal-proof, vandalproof

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### References

* ↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “vandal”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
* ↑ [John] Dryden (1694) “To Sir Godfrey Kneller”, in The Annual Miscellany: for the Year 1694. Being the Fourth Part of Miscellany Poems. Containing Great Variety of New Translations and Original Copies, by the Most Eminent Hands., London: […] R. E. for Jacob Tonson, […], page 90: “Till Goths and Vandals, a rude Northern Race, / Did all the matchless Monuments deface.”

## Czech
### Noun

vandal m anim
* vandal (person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages other people's property)

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “vandal”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
* “vandal”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

## Manx
### Etymology

Borrowed from English vandal.

### Noun

vandal m (genitive singular vandal, plural vandallyn)
* (history) vandal

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From Latin vandali (plural).

### Noun

vandal m (definite singular vandalen, indefinite plural vandaler, definite plural vandalene)
* (modern-day) a vandal
* (historical) a Vandal

#### Derived terms

* vandalsk

### References

* “vandal” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From Latin vandali (plural).

### Noun

vandal m (definite singular vandalen, indefinite plural vandalar, definite plural vandalane)
* (modern-day) a vandal
* (historical) a Vandal

#### Derived terms

* vandalsk

### References

* “vandal” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French vandale.

### Noun

vandal m (plural vandali)
* vandal
* Vandal

#### Declension
## Swedish
### Noun

vandal c
* a vandal
* a Vandal (member of an ancient east Germanic tribe)

#### Declension

| | | nominative | genitive |
| singular | indefinite | vandal | vandals |
| singular | definite | vandalen | vandalens |
| plural | indefinite | vandaler | vandalers |
| plural | definite | vandalerna | vandalernas |

#### See also

* huligan (“hooligan”)
* ligist

### References

* vandal in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* vandal in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* vandal in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)